Well-Known Member

Picking up where we last left off, Piccolo has destroyed the exit to Kami's Lookout because he fell for Gotenks' lie that he was all out of power. On Kami's Lookout, the others see the door to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber destroyed and Bulma accuses the others of being cowards for not fighting Super Buu in Goten Trunks' place. Gotenks reveals he was just trying to make things dramatic and Piccolo chews the Fused Saiyan out for his foolish theatrics. Super Buu yells so loud that he rips a hole through the fabric of time that allows him to return to Kami's Lookout but the hole in the fabric of time closes up before Gotenks and Piccolo can also escape, but the Namekian thinks that the two of them can re-open the hole in the fabric in time if they yell like Super Buu did.

Old Kai gives Goku, Shin & Kibito a Crystal Ball so they can see what's happening on Earth...and just in time to see Super Buu's escape and turning everyone one the Lookout into chocolate! Meanwhile, Hercule/Mr. Satan/Mark and the puppy stumble upon an empty town, have something to eat & drink and the former still believes there is good inside Buu. Eventually, Gotenks reveals the trick he was saving...the ability to transform into Super Saiyan 3 and the transformation gives him the power to yell loud enough to reopen the hole in the fabric of time so that Piccolo and him can escape. The episode ends with SS3 Gotenks preparing to fight Super Buu after he and Piccolo find out what the demon has done to their comrades.

Even when I watched Regular DBZ back in the day, I never liked how Bulma accused the other Z-Fighters of being cowards for not fighting Super Buu instead of Goten & Trunks. While I do understand that she is a mother grieving the (alleged) death of her son and the (alleged) death of her son's best friend/the youngest son of one of her oldest friends, Goten & Trunks being kids doesn't change the fact that the two are the only ones that they are aware of (keep in mind that they think Gohan is dead at the moment) that have the power to have a chance to beat Super Buu; the rest of the Z-Fighers present would have easily been eliminated by Buu (which was proven after Buu escaped the Hyperbolic Time Chamber). I also felt Bulma came off a bit of a hypocrite since she didn't object so much when Goku or Gohan fought powerful enemies as kids and both the Super Saiyan transformation and the Fusion Dance give Goten & Trunks advantages that Goku didn't have when he was younger (Gohan had the first two Super Saiyan transformations when he was 9 years old, a year older than Trunks, during the Cell Games). It's similar to how I never liked Piccolo ragging on Goku for having Gohan fight Cell; while it was foolish of Goku to blindside Gohan/not tell him the plan sooner and to prioritize a fair fight over victory/giving Cell a Senzu Bean, Gohan being a kid and not getting a thrill out of battle like Goku didn't change the fact that Goku was right about Gohan being the only one who had enough power to beat Cell.

I always found Gotenks' Super Saiyan 3 look to be pretty cool and I remember how many fans still debate on whether or not Gotenks also gained access to the Super Saiyan 2 transformation.

Ravioli, Ravioli

Quite honestly, this is the point of the original series where I stopped watching the Buu arc, as this episode brings out one of the biggest problems with this arc from this point forward: the show going all out with the "death is cheap" route.

One reason why the Cell arc was so great was that even if the victims of Cell's carnage were easy to revive once he's defeated, most of the heroes would not be able to revived via the Dragon Balls due to them already dying once beforehand, and as such their death count was limited to just Princess Trunks (who could still be allowed to be revived by the Dragon Balls) and Goku (whose death was meant to complete the "passing the torch" moment to his son). Here, with this episode, it becomes apparent that Akira has ditched that restraint and is going all out in killing everyone. Honestly, while I'm not saying everyone must survive, things could have worked out better if only Bulma and Chi-Chi (and maybe Videl) were killed, as they are the ones that would push the young Saiyans over the edge in their fight with Buu (not to mention those characters are still on the "can be revived with the Earth Dragon Balls" list).